HOLYOKE, Mass. - Ezra Bleau is a culinary teacher in South Hadley. He's 30-years-old and originally from Chicopee. Using his knowledge of culinary arts, with his love of beer, he came up with an idea.

"I stopped drinking a while ago. My biggest thing is I have always been a craft brewer, always been into distillation, and I have always loved beer in general, just not the alcohol part of it," said Bleau.

Bleau wanted to give people a healthier option to drink beer. He started his new venture during the pandemic and took on the role as CEO and Chief Beer Officer of NA Brews. Bleau said he was upset by the lack of non-alcoholic options in liquor stores which motivated him to create change. Bleau said as a chef and homebrewer, he wanted the same quality and flavor of beers without the alcohol. 

NA Brews helps create a variety of non alcoholic beverages and sells them online. They ship right to the customer's door as well. NA Brews also distributes to stores and restaurants.

"It's groundbreaking," said Bleau. "No ones ever done something like this. No ones really helped out local breweries to help them become a national brand."

Bleau said they are currently in the investment cycle. They are buying machinery which will allow them to have a mobile operation to go to different breweries and help them produce these NA beverages. NA Brews is also opening up a physical location at 120 Front Street in Holyoke. They will be in the location in December and plan to open up in January.

"We are going to kick off dry January, while everyone else is like I stopped drinking after January, we are going to give them options to make it easier because the biggest thing is, people say I can't go out, I can't do that because I stopped drinking," said Bleau.

His goal is to give people the option to drink beer without the alcohol, remove the stigma of drinking beer and to normalize sobriety.

"This is giving them the option to be healthier and still have that social experience at parties, social events, sporting events and still be part of the scene without drinking soda which is high in sugar or juice or water," said Bleau "Or individuals that go to weddings that don't drink and they have Capri Sun or water, it's giving them option and being more inclusive of everyone."

More information can be found at na-brews.com.